New Moon Journal

Capricorn-the Choir of Many

At the Aries new moon in April of 2007 you planted something; it’s a nine month birthing process. The results are in at this New Moon in Capricorn, what you set your intention too nine months ago is now here. If you planted weeds in the spring, then you are dealing with the weeds in your life’s work. How are you doing? What did you set into motion at the Aries New Moon and what are you now ready to birth?

The New Moon in Capricorn
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 6:37 am est.
18° Capricorn

Law of Action- the path before us

We meet the 10th House, Capricorn and Saturn, The Builder. Earth.
Cancer is the gate in, Capricorn the gate out into the world.

What do I want to say about these times. In my journey and meditations this year’s theme is Light; embodying Spirit and bringing forth our Light at each new moon. The Power of your Presence is called forth in your family and the community your serve. The keyword at this lunation: Transcendence.

In everyday language, "transcendence" means "going beyond" and "self-transcendence" means going beyond a prior form or state of oneself. Mystical experience is thought of as a particularly advanced state of self-transcendence, in which the sense of a separate self is abandoned. "Self transcendence" is believed to be psycho-metrically measurable, and (at least partially) inherited.- Wikipedia

The Law of Attraction is all well and good, but if you don’t act then you’ll still be sitting here another year later wondering what’s wrong. The key at each lunation is to transcend the apparent limitations and express myself more fully, not behind the scenes but out in the public eye, in my community, in the corporate world. Duality, black and white thinking has no place to sit in the Essential Self. One knows she is part of a divine tribe called Humanity and from this place you accept your divinity; then there is peace from within, the gate is open, there is no need for defense. There is harmony. There is balance.

Capricorn represents your tribe and the social responsibility you bring to the table as a human being. Capricorn represents the archetypal force in the 10th house of work and career birthed from your creative passionate spirit. Your divinity. Anything else are empty promises. Capricorn represents your skeletal structure- the bones of who you are. In shamanic terms- your ancestors (Cancer) and You. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn. In alchemy Saturn is the metal lead before it is transformed and transmuted into gold, bringing deeper meaning to the phrase “Get the lead out.”

The artistic muse doesn’t discriminate. Creativity has nothing to do with income level.-Mary Engelbreit

Saturn and the Capricorn energy calls each of us to show up and be the adult, be responsible. Create and Act. Capricorn’s energy takes us out into the world through our career, our work; we see the results of the creative muse birthed from the 5th house (the Leo New Moon), manifesting in the 10th house where Capricorn sits. In Capricorn you want to be seen; it’s the wise one within- you know what you know and now you are called out into the world to stand in that knowing.

Pluto is about to change signs and move into Capricorn, staying for the next 16 years. Expect a dismemberment. That makes this New Moon in Capricorn a bit different this year. A new guest is about to arrive and everyone’s been put on notice.

Where Pluto sits in your chart you are called to carry your generations power. The theme here is E Pluribus Unum-"Out of Many, One". The One Heart of each generation brings their collective power to bear on the Earth:

• Pluto in Leo (1937-1958)
• Pluto in Virgo (1956-1972) (Saturn in Virgo there now, helping your Pluto in Virgo along).
• Pluto in Libra (1971-1984)
• Pluto in Scorpio (1983-1995)
• Pluto in Sag (1995-2008) and now
• Pluto in Capricorn (1762-1778, 2008-2024).

Pluto brings forth the power to transform and transmute. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn? The American Revolution, we collectively manifested the United States of America in 1776.

Yes, there is a rendering energy to Pluto that some people just want to hide under the sheets until he goes away. Sixteen years is a long time to hide and that’s not going to work. Capricorn represents the structure, the bones, the foundation; it’s an earth action energy. Two feet planted firmly on the ground, 1st chakra standing up energy or kneeling in prayer. Saturn in Capricorn represents our tribal conditioning, how we shed the past to move into the future. Can you get the picture?

The shadow - this shedding energy brings up unconscious fears- fear’s of the past, fears of our parents, fears of society...no wonder things are feeling a bit intense. The first response to this energy is to contract, hunker down- try and keep things the same, but it won’t work. Pluto’s here. Think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail- "Run away, run away."

Now Pluto comes along and says there are changes that need to be made. Your foundation (government, social security, corporations) isn’t looking so good, and well we have to take things apart to make the changes. Pluto is a transpersonal energy that dismantles the old to make way for the new. If the Capricorn energy is all about building a strong foundation, then you have had a lifetime to get ready for this new energy. Expect a shift. Are you ready?

A moment of discontent:

Collectively we view things with such a limited narrow focus. What about me? Why is this happening? The bottom line? We are creating change for future generations- as astrologer Carolyn Casey shares "laying the foundation tracks for the reality train to follow". Al Gore and his body of work- Inconvenient Truth- is the manifestation of seeds thoughts he sowed in college, and through his public service he is now taking action. Not react, but act. Law of ACTION. Each of us is called to act in some way.

Yes there is rumbling within the collective human psyche about the changes that are taking place. But Pluto entering Capricorn has been a long time in coming; you’ve been getting ready (body, mind and spirit) for a very long time. It’s a choice you made to be born at this exact moment in time, to be present at the birth of this energy, so why hide from it? Embrace it, ask Pluto in for some coffee.

The only way is through it- can’t jump it nor pretend it isn’t here. As an empath I am sure you are already feeling it. Now how to manage it, play with it?

At this new moon I suggest we all act like George Costanza in Seinfeld- do the opposite; rather than contracting, expand. Love the apparent chaos within and without. Merge with the energy. Become light filled. Give Pluto’s energy a voice and a presence in your creative work this month. Dialog with it. Play with it. Meet it. Don’t know how to fill yourself up with light? Click here for instructions.

Yes you are going to feel things, but this is the moment we have been waiting for, it’s what you decided to take on when you met with your angels right before birth. "Send me in I want to do my part!" This is the time for you and I to shine brightly, stand up and be seen.

I send bright blessings at this New Moon.

Shamanic journey for this New Moon in Capricorn- Create your sacred space. Set the intention. Go to your Helping Ally, ask to be dismembered. Then go to Light. I use the image of the Starship Enterprise going into warp drive. Feel your light body. Really embrace the feeling, the knowing of it, come out of the journey and walk outside in that Light body. Experience nature and your surroundings in that light filled state. How long can you hold the space. Practice this on a daily basis. Tune yourself to a higher frequency. To learn about Shamanic Journeying- read Shamanic Journeying by Sandra Ingerman.

If you have a question or want to share your experience use the new form I created Ask Michele.

Astronomer's beware Pluto cuts through our crap

Like the show American Idol astronomers have voted off Pluto in our planetary line-up. Astronomers beware!! Pluto is the agent of transformation and he doesn’t just go away. This messes everything up…Death, sex, rock and roll. Pluto is our collective get out of Hell ticket so we can share our story through transformation. Pluto is the change agent for our rigid black and white thinking; our shadow issues, those things we want to hide. Pluto is the task master over the crap of our shame represented by the seven deadly sins- pride, wrath, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth. The offenses against Love.

“Pluto burns away the conditioned voice of family and society that limits our vision of what is possible for us and for the world.” (Casey, p. 99)

At Grandma’s house there sits on the floor a antique carved walnut bowl full of colorful rolled fabric balls. Old worn colorful cotton dresses- in hues of purples, reds, pinks, blues, yellow, green torn and rolled into balls ready to be woven into a new rag rug. “Remember to add black because black brings out the other colors.” Grandma said to me as she sat crocheting a large oval rug in her lap. Grandma taught me not to be afraid of the color black. it has a place in my art and life…black brings out the best in the colors.

Pluto is the black we’d all like to forget about. Avoid. So what does this mean for Humanity as Pluto is voted off the stage? Well think about this for a moment- when Pluto was sited in the 1930’s it heralded the development of nuclear power. The Bomb. We could now kill ourselves on a global scale.

It is said in astrology each time humanity stands at the threshold of a new consciousness a planetary body is discovered. Actually these planetary bodies were out there all the time, we just couldn’t ‘see it’.  Uranus’s discovery brought freedom to the slaves in the mid 1980’s. Neptune brought our awareness to the importance of dream time, illusions, it birthed hypnosis.

Each planetary body represents a myth- a shared story for humanity. Can we tell Pluto to go away? I think not. There is a need within each of us to remember and share our stories. Through story we have a greater opportunity to live lives of meaning beyond material things. Dan Pink, in his book “A Whole New Mind”, writes:

Once upon a time there was a hero who was prosperous, happy and respected by all. One day, three visitors arrived. They began to point out everything that was wrong and told him he was unfit to remain. The Hero resisted to no avail. He was brutally ousted from his land. Wounded and battered he set off to find a new world. There adrift and alone he floundered. But with the help of people and animals he met during his exiled, the Hero transformed himself and vowed to make his way back. When he came home he was welcomed to a place he scarcely recognized but that he still understood as home. (Pink, p. 104)

Dan paraphrases Joseph Campbell’s ‘the hero’s journey’ from his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. All myths contain the same basic ingredients in three main parts- the Departure, Initiation and the Return.

“Pluto rules death, rebirth, transformation, obsession. The descent into the underworld. All things unseen: death, sex, spirits, ancestors. All that was sacred in the ancient world and become taboo in the modern.” (Casey, p. 100)

Each of us faces this Hero’s Journey in our lives. It’s those times when we face death we are being reborn. Pluto’s energy strips us bare emotionally, physically, mentally to become spiritual. Make us Holy. We find what really matters. 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina are an examples of this hero’s journey. Think you are immune, well think again my pretty.

What’s your journey into hell and back, Cancer, a divorce, a death in the family. Can you see how the ascent, your initiation is related to Pluto’s energy? Don’t you want to keep him around? Our Shadow is seen and found by Pluto’s desire to bring the shadow into the light, make you Holy.  As my astrology teacher says Pluto is the Cosmic Garbage Collector.

Each of us has a meeting in our lives with the plutonian force of Pluto. Astronomers beware!! Pluto is the agent of transformation and he doesn’t just go away. I think it is apt that at a time of great chaos and transformation on the planet, where we stand at the threshold of change scientists decided ‘opps, let’s just forget about that one’.

What are they thinking!!!  Astrologer Caroline Casey in her book Making the God’s work for you shares this about Pluto “The order you are clinging to is inhibiting your life. You may think you need it, but in fact, letting go will give you more options.” And if you aren’t going to do what I have been asking, wham, I am going to take you to your knees and show you what life really means beyond your Blackberries.

I am sure astrologers all over the world are scratching their heads today wondering “what are they thinking.” In any case, today is a good day to remember your Hero’s journey and honor Pluto in your story.

Resources:

Daniel Pink. 2006. A Whole New Mind. Penguin Publishing, NY.
Caroline Casey. 1998. Making the Gods Work for You. Harmony Books: NY.

God bless Florida and those hanging chads!! The New Moon in Cancer

Today we welcome the New Moon in Cancer on June 25, 2006 at 12:05 pm est at 3 degrees of Cancer 58 minutes. You can print this New Moon Journal out via the pdf link. and I invite you to share your own thoughts in the comment area below. Have you seen the movie, how are you feeling at home within and without??? Curious minds [me] want to know. Have a wonderfilled day

Mercury goes retrograde at 1 degree of Leo on July 4th  and moves backward into the sign Cancer during this lunation. Mercury rules the mind and our mental chatter. What will be revealed? Mercury and the Moon are then highlighted at this New Moon in Cancer which rules:

• Home/Family- your internal frame of reference. Gut instincts.
• Safety- security, feelings of belonging, protection, tenacity and financial security.
• Processes such as training and practicing, early childhood conditioning, growth, nurturing new beginnings.
• Emotional closeness- the caring for others, empathy, vulnerability, intimacy.
• Feelings- the changing of moods, awareness of our own feelings, sensitivity to others’ feelings, tenderness and awareness of needs.
• Nurturance- being supportive and accepting support, food, Mother, close family relations, taking care of others, being taken care of by another.
• Excessive Self Protection including clinginess, feelings of insecurity, possessiveness, overly cautious behaviors, fears of rejection and lack of goals.
• Health of the body representing breasts and chest cavity, pancreas, stomach, stomach gas, ulcers and tumors.

The New Moon in Cancer stands for the Holy Order of Water. We are born from water, baptized in water and healed in water (emotions). All religions have a sacred relationship to water. Saturn moved into Cancer on June 3, 2003 for the first time in 29 years and left July 16th 2005 to move into Leo. Saturn moving through a sign has a definite beginning, middle and end. This lunation is the first New Moon in Cancer since Saturn left the sign, this lunation packs a deeper wallop of energy since it’s Saturn’s last hurrah. Mercury is there to add the mental punch and kick it up a notch. This cycle is calling each of us to task- have we ‘got it’ yet.

New Moon in Gemini-find your shades of grey

This new moon is about finding your own shades of grey. Gemini is ruled by Mercury. This area of the 12 around (birth chart) represents our sacred connection to siblings and neighbors. How we communicate based on our thinking. The day-to-day communication beyond Mom and Dad. How did you connect with others as a child outside your parental triangle [father, mother, holy child]? How do you seek and explore new territory? Mercury rules the mind, your thinking process about exploring. Black and white shadow issues that color your thinking, cloud your judgment and hold you hostage.

How about you? Saturn in Leo goes direct.

Pluto Retrograde: The journey continues with Pluto insights- there was an email from a friend sharing how Pluto was working her this week. Pluto is an agent of transformation, the cosmic garbage collector, he takes away what no longer works. She sent me a link to an astrology site…curiosity got me. For those Pisceans out there here’s what this weekend brings:

This is an important weekend. It completes a process that has been going on for several months. It brings Venus a little further into your sign and allows you to start fulfilling an old promise. You have thought about a lot and you have talked about a lot. You have raised many questions and explored many possible answers. Now it is time to start taking action. You are about to go a long way in a short space of time. All you have to do is have faith... and choose carefully the direction in which you wish to head. click here to read your horoscope.

Long way in a short amount of time. Oh goody! Aries and this Aries new moon is about creating a new cycle, action steps are now more important than results. I gotta say Wednesday I woke up feeling energetically different– ready for action- such a relief. This insight came when I sat down on the sofa, contemplating and asking what happened? Oh, Saturn moved out of retrograde [since November] and went direct in Leo. Wow, I felt this on such a tangible level. So cool! Leo’s quest in your chart asks you to pursue what has heart and meaning for you. Saturn asks us all to respond in a new way- to be responsible. Saturn is in Leo creating the structure for your inner joy.

Uranus wakes us up like a lightening strike.

This is a Balsamic Story. In the New Moon Journal I wrote about being aware of the split I have between being with ‘normal people’ like family and integrating my shamanic practice. This new moon hits my Uranus in the 9th house at the mid-heaven. The energy is like coming out party, a wake up.  Where Pluto wakes us up from within. Uranus wakes us up like a lightening strike- from outside.

For the past two weeks I have been in a dance when do I speak up and share, when do I keep quiet and observe. Most times I am observing. We got back late Saturday night, and I wrote the new moon journal on Sunday/Monday. Monday late afternoon we had a neighborhood block party to celebrate the 4th.  Barbecue grills set around in a circle, kids run around playing, people connecting. The weather is hot, but not muggy. My husband Rich offers up his catch. Each year he goes fishing in Northern Canada. The hunter bringing home food for the family.  As I walk across the street carrying our covered dish I see Rich is sitting in the corner of the driveway cooking the fish in the fryer. He sits in such a way that I get a immediate hit of danger in my gut that I dismiss. Later I attribute this to being out of “it” for the last two weeks. I walk away feeling that edge. I also hear my inner voice saying ‘what will be, will be’ as I sit the pasta salad down.  Fifteen minutes go by talking with my neighbor then I hear a loud watch out, watch out, then a scream. Then bunch of screams.

I turn to see my husband standing up walking around with that look he gets when something is hurting. . .and he’s walking it off.  A little girl of 8 has driven her golf cart into the back of Rich’s chair, and the grease from the fryer splashed his left leg and foot. The neighbor whose child hit the chair runs for aloe, I go for my lavender essential oil.  I walk back to the crowd and slide into healer mode- effortlessly and automatically. The people around me slide into the background, as I go into an altered state. I am talking to Rich asking him to breath and focus. This still amazes me as I sit here writing this.  Shamanically I am also talking with my teachers, the  burn and the oils- both the lavender and the peanut oil. Hours later blisters that appeared disappeared, a majority of the areas are just red. The main area has blistered slightly. Yesterday we go to the emergency room as a added precaution. 2nd degree burns. Later in the evening at home my husband shares “I know who you are and what you do,  honey I wasn’t worried.” Bless his heart- this from a man who resisted my shamanic path saying I was ‘too spiritual’ is now my number one cheerleader/supporter.

I feel guilty that I didn’t honor that gut hit. I feel grateful that the injury is healing well. I am aware of so many things. I feel grateful for the lessons. This new moon in Cancer with Saturn in Cancer as well is asking all of us to respond. To take responsibility. Do the right thing. Cooperation is needed. What you planted at the New Moon in Aries is now here. Revealed. Remember to set the intention in the next 24 hours.  Go within and connect to what is needed in that area of your life. 24 hours after the new moon, write it down, verbalize it and then send it out.